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In opening his report to the club, retiring club President Vaughan Fox reflected proudly and somewhat emotionally on his year as the President of the Rotary Club of Warragul.
Vaughan said the role as President had taken him right out of his comfort zone. “For me this has been a personal journey of self discovery and I rate it as one of the big achievements of my life” said Vaughan. “I would strongly encourage all club members to take on the role of the club President, no matter what your doubts may be.”
Vaughan thanked all club members for their support through the year, especially club Secretary Lyn Bennett-Colls and also his partner Janet MacDonald. “I would also like to pay a tribute to all the members of my board for both their advice and commitment to delivering the projects in their portfolios” said Vaughan.
Vaughan’s formal report to the club highlighted a number of important events through the year. The Christmas tree project continues to be not only the club’s main fund raising event (generating a profit of almost $40,000 last year) but also an important social activity. The planting, maintaining and harvesting of the trees involve all club members (and often family members) and is an outstanding example of club members just chatting away and enjoying the fellowship and warmth of a job well done.
The 46th annual Rotary Art Show was back at the Exhibition Hall, where it originally began in 1972 and continued to contribute to the cultural life of Warragul as well as supporting local artists. With the financial sponsorship from local businesses the art show generated a profit of $15,000. In addition a successful raffle raised $5,000 which was donated to the Mawarra Centre.
A highlight social event for President Vaughan Fox was the hosting of 125 Rotarians from Rotary clubs at Drouin, Moe, Morwell and Hazelwood at the Warragul Greyhound Track. Two new successful community projects initiated during the year by the club were the Business Dinner and the Business Excellence Awards. Both these activities were well received by participants.
Donations for the year totalled $59,000 supporting almost 40 projects and causes. Some of the donations supported the local community such as a new entertainment system at Cooinda Lodge, tablets for clients at the Mawarra Centre, the local Scout and Venturer’s units and the Warragul Regional College’s student World Challenge program. The club also gave financial support to a range of Rotary projects such as the Rotary International Polio Plus project, the Gippsland Rotary Centennial House at Traralgon, Rotary bushfire relief projects (in various parts of Australia) and sponsoring a local student to Rotary’s National Youth Science Forum in Canberra.